VZCZCXRO7251
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHIT #0051/01 0241610
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241610Z JAN 07
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6535
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA PRIORITY 2287

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELTN EINV ENRG IT TU
SUBJECT: PM LAUNCHES TUNNEL, LAUDS ITALIAN SUPPORT 
 
REF: ANKARA 123 
 
ISTANBUL 00000051  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  On January 23, Prime Minister Erdogan used the 
official opening ceremony of a tunnel on the primary Ankara - 
Istanbul highway to highlight the strong commercial ties 
between Turkey and Italy.  Erdogan argued that the commercial 
and business links forged by his government with Italy have 
helped the two countries grow closer together and have 
encouraged Italian support for Turkey's EU candidacy.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. Prime Minister Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Prodi 
headlined the January 23 ceremony opening a tunnel through 
the Bolu mountain on the main Istanbul - Ankara highway.  The 
tunnel, which began as part of a highway modernization 
project in 1993, was built by the Italian engineering firm 
Astaldi.  According to Astaldi Chairman Paolo Astaldi, the 3 
km-long twin three-lane tunnel with over 5 kilometers of 
associated viaducts and bridges is one of the largest in 
Europe.  The tunnel links the Trans European Motorway on 
either side of the Bolu pass, a dangerous stretch of road 
used intensively by domestic and international truck traffic 
and the site of frequent road closures and accidents due to 
dangerous weather conditions.  The tunnel is situated in a 
technically challenging area in a seismically active region - 
the North Anatolian Fault Line crosses under the highway - 
and suffered major earthquake damage in 1999.  The tunnel 
cost over USD 300 million to construct, accounting for close 
to one third of the total cost of the Turkish 
government-funded Bolu Mountain Pass Project. 
 
¶3. Turkish Public Works Minister Faruk Ozak described the 
opening of the tunnel as the "realization of a dream."  He 
noted that five or six years ago -- in the aftermath of a 
major financial crisis as well as the 1999 earthquakes - the 
completion of the project seemed an almost unattainable goal. 
 However, project insurance paid for all earthquake-related 
damage and after 5030 days of work one side of the tunnel was 
finally complete.  The Ankara-Istanbul portion of the project 
should be finished in May after weather conditions permit 
asphalt work to recommence.  Project coordinators estimate 
that the tunnel opening will cut the Istanbul to Ankara drive 
time to 3.5 hours from 5 hours as well as increase road 
safety by diverting traffic from the overtaxed highway 
through the Bolu pass and into a tunnel fully equipped with 
modern technical safeguards.  Ozak stressed the important 
role the tunnel would play in his department's efforts to 
reduce the number and frequency of fatal road accidents. 
 
¶4. Prime Minister Erdogan used his speech, which was 
televised live by most major Turkish media outlets, to 
highlight his government's successful cooperation with Italy. 
 Erdogan noted that the ceremony was "both an ending and a 
beginning" and argued that Turkish cooperation with Italy 
would build upon this success.  He highlighted the joint 
Italian - Russian - Turkish Blue Stream natural gas project 
as well as the East West Energy Corridor and the Turkey - 
Greece - Italy natural gas interconnector to highlight 
Turkey's emerging role as an energy corridor.  He called for 
increased efforts, with European/Italian support, to make the 
Samsun - Ceyhan oil pipeline a reality. 
 
¶5. Erdogan urged his audience to look at the tunnel project 
not just as a road that cuts the distance between Ankara and 
Istanbul but as a symbol of friendship and cooperation 
linking Ankara and Rome.  Erdogan explained that historically 
Turkey and Italy have had close relations built upon their 
shared Mediterranean and Southern European identity. 
Successes such as the tunnel project would cause the two 
countries to grow closer together and strengthen Italy's 
support for Turkey's EU candidacy, he argued.  Erdogan noted 
that in 1988, there were only 18 Italian firms doing business 
in Turkey.  Now Italy is Turkey's third largest trade partner 
and there are over 450 Italian firms invested in Turkey -- 
with 250 of those entering the market since AKP took power in 
¶2003.  He thanked PM Prodi personally and on behalf of the 
Turkish nation for Italy's on-going support. 
 
¶6. Italian PM Prodi's remarks were brief and offered in 
Italian without interpretation.  He echoed Erdogan's calls 
for cooperation between the two countries, noting that the 
governments had a responsibility to foster peace, friendship 
and cooperation.  Echoing AKP slogans Erdogan declared "our 
road is open and our future is bright" as the two Prime 
Ministers cut the ribbon and declared the tunnel open. 
 
¶7. COMMENT:  Erdogan's efforts to link cooperation with 
European companies on major construction projects and 
Turkey's EU candidacy underscores the difficulties described 
reftel by U. S. companies currently working in Turkey to find 
a space to do business with a Turkey increasingly focused 
upon its European neighbors.  Erdogan and Ozak also played to 
 
ISTANBUL 00000051  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
an election year audience by highlighting the AKP's ability 
to deliver the goods to constituents - in this case a billion 
dollar highway project and major engineering feat - that six 
previous governments had failed to realize. 
 
JONES